Melisa Marsman, Good Deeds

Please read the following article available online: Melisa Marsman, Good Deeds? A Critical Race Analysis of the Nova Scotia Land Titles Clarification Act" (2024) 47:2 Dalhousie Law Journal 620.

Abstract #

The Nova Scotia Land Titles Clarification Act (“LTCA”) is remedial legislation that was enacted in 1964 to resolve insecure land titles within designated communities, particularly African Nova Scotian communities. However, African Nova Scotians had been advocating for legal title to their land for over 100 years prior to the enactment of the LTCA, and those demands were largely ignored by the government. Furthermore, despite the 60-year existence of this remedial legislation, many African Nova Scotians still hold insecure title to their land. Through a critical race analysis, this article explores why the LTCA has failed to achieve its promise to African Nova Scotians and attributes that failure to the converging interests which gave rise to the enactment of the LTCA but were insufficient to sustain transformative change. The author concludes that unless the motivations for racial equality change, the promise of prosperity for African Nova Scotians will not be achieved.